Mass Effect: A Bounty Hunter's Rise
by PhantomBlade116
Summary: I was an aimless wanderer, content with going from place to place, doing what I could to survive. Now however, after receiving a letter from an mysterious source, my life has changed. For better or for worse, I've been given a chance to do something with my life. Granted, it might kill me. But hey, what's life without risks?
1. An Odd Gift

_AN: So hello and welcome! The names Phantom. I figured I'd take a shot at writing a Mass Effect story, both because I wanted to and as a sort of... back up in cases of writers block for my other story. Hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

 _You know, I never knew what I was going to do with my life. Never thought it'd lead to this anyways. The names Mercer. Richard Mercer. Figured I'd give a little info about myself. I was born in 2148 and raised on Earth by a military family. Simple stuff really._

 _Not really much to say about my childhood. Dad was hardly around, mainly due to both the First Contact War and the 'call of the Alliance' as he loved to put it. Mom thankfully had the time to teach me some basic stuff, like how to fight and to shoot. Really helped out to tell you the truth._

 _I went through high school pretty easily, and before I knew it I was given a chance to serve the Alliance. Much to my dad's annoyance, I declined. Not really a fan of following orders, so I decided to go solo. Besides, it usually paid better._

 _That's when tragedy struck. Cliche sounding, but that's what happened. When I was 22, my parents were killed. They died trying to take back Mindoir, a human colony that Batarians attacked. I went to their funerals, accepted the medals they had earned, and left. Didn't really have anyone else. Grandparents died before the War, so I hardly knew them. Mom and Dad were single children, so no extended family. So with no family, hardly any friends and nothing to do. I just visited their graves a couple of times._

 _After that? I wandered._

 _For years I just drifted from planet to planet, taking jobs were I could. More often than not those jobs included hunting down criminals. Other times I was on a ship as either security or low maintenance. I really didn't know what to do. Then one day I got a letter from someone, a letter that changed everything._

* * *

 **Location: Illium**

 **Date: 6/12/2176**

I downed another shot, the whiskey giving me a much needed burn. I just finished another odd job. Unfortunate that left me with little to do. I opened my omni tool, searching for... anything to do really. Nothing. Well guess that means I'm getting off this planet. Illium was a nice place and all, but it didn't have anything else for me. I scowled slightly, tempted to break the glass in my hand. This always happened... the restlessness. Moving from place to place. Sometimes I question why I keep doing this... other times I just ignore it all together. This was one of the former sadly. When the hell was a new job coming up? I can't just stay in this god forsaken hotel... Ah whatever.

Just as soon as I paid my tab, a salarian walked up to me.

"Excuse me? Are you Richard Mercer?" He asked, typing something into an omni tool. I raised an eyebrow. Wonder what this one's deal was. I nodded.

"Who's asking?" I shot back, discretely reaching for my pistol. I'm not normally a paranoid man, but this planet wasn't exactly known for it's hospitality.

The salarian just put a datapad in front of me. "I was told to give you this. Good day." He said, walking off. Well shit, this ought to be good. Normally clients approach me in person. If they left a message, that meant big money. I glanced down at the datapad.

 _Well haven't you been busy? Freelance pays good eh? Look, you may not know me, but I know you Richard. I know that you're trying to find your place in the galaxy, and I'm going to help you do it. I understand this may seem odd and completely random, and you're free to forget this. If not, would you kindly come to the building listed below? I'd like to give you something. An investment of sorts._

 _Come by Turos. Ask for room 20._

 _From a friend._

A friend? What the hell? I checked my omni tool for the time. Ah fuck it. My ship wasn't leaving for another day, so I might as well indulge whoever this is. I quickly left the bar. Let's see what they have to say.

* * *

I stared at the building the message mentioned. It had a big neon sign, which had 'Turos.' This was the place alright. I walked in, noticing an Asari at the front desk. I walked over when she noticed me. "Yes? Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm here for room 20." I said. Her eyes lit up as she checked her terminal. "So you're the client. Alright, this way please." She said, gesturing for me to follow. I did, and before I knew it we were in front of a… rather armored door. The asari waved her omni tool, and the door opened.

"Take all the time you need. They're waiting for you." She told me, before walking back to her desk. I shook my head, before walking in.

As soon as I entered, the door shut behind me. Oh boy. The room was dimly lit. I could barely see anything really.

"So what now?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

 **"That's a great question. Hello Richard."** A distorted voice said. I looked around for the source. Where the hell did...? That's when I saw a flicker of light, before a projection lit up. I saw... a figure sitting down. I couldn't tell anything about them, because they were shrouded in darkness. Great.

"So what's all this about then? Who the hell are you?" I asked, not beating around the bush. I wanted answers.

 **"Straight to the point then. Very well. For now, who I am is not important. Why you're here however is. You're here because you show potential for something greater than you are right now."** They said. Well isn't that vague?

"What exactly are you talking about? I'm just a regular guy." I shot back

They chuckled. **"I know that. Like I said, I want to help you. You have two choices here. You can turn around, walk away and pretend like this never happened. Or you can stay, and your life changes forever."** They told me. I thought it over. Ah fuck it, freelance was starting to get a bit boring anyways.

I smirked. "I'm in, but I want something out of this. We'll talk about it later. Where do we start?" I asked.

The figure clapped their hands. **"Excellent! We start here and now. First of all, you're going to need some gear."** They said. I nodded.

"Sounds fair. Oh and since we're working together now, what do I call you anyways?" I asked, crossing my arms.

The figure chuckled. **"You can call me... Azrael."** They told me. Azrael... if I remember the Bible right, that was... The angel of death I was correct. Well that's... interesting.

"Okay then, what happens now Azrael?" I asked them, looking around the room. Guess I could humor whoever this was.

Azrael simply waved to a box next to me. Huh, wonder how I didn't notice that. **"This contains armor I acquired some time ago. I'll give you time to put it on. It's rather simple, I assure you. Just press the blue button to let me know when you're ready."** They said, their image fading to give me privacy.

I walked over to the box, opening it. Whoa... this is badass. The helmet was interesting... it didn't look like anything I had ever seen before. It was surprisingly armored, covering my entire face, along with a t-shaped visor. When I put the helmet on, it felt way different than the average one. It seemed that the helmet had given me a heads up display. Nice.

I looked down, picking up what looked to be a chest piece. It was slightly armored and painted black. Beneath that was gauntlets and greaves to match. I put it all on, over the clothes I was wearing. Hah, knew spending all that time with Mom was good for something. Once it was all in place, I took a look at myself. The armor I was wearing was sleek, and let me move really smoothly. I like it. Suddenly I felt a slight jolt. Huh, weird.

Time to call Azrael. I pressed the blue button, and their image appeared once more.

 **"Ah you're done. What do you think of the armor?"** They asked. I chuckled.

"Not bad. Where did you find this?" I asked, stretching out and giving the suit a feel.

Azrael chuckled. **"Oh this? It's experimental Alliance Spec Ops gear. I added a few modifications to it however."** They said. I just gaped.

"You... stole this from The Alliance!?" I asked, now feeling tempted to just tear this off. They chuckled again.

 **"Stole is such a harsh word. I simply acquired a non essential prototype. Trust me, the Alliance had plans to scrap this suit. Do you want me to explain its functions?"** Azrael asked. I just nodded, still a bit speechless.

They clapped their hands. **"Excellent. So first of all, the suit has a tactical cloak built into it. It's a bit more advanced than your average tactical cloak. This one won't dissipate after you attack someone, allowing you to make multiple sneak attacks. Despite it's slender look, the armor is actually very sturdy, capable of taking gunfire for a while. It's also pressurized, so you'll be able to survive in the vacuum."** Azrael said. Well shit, I made the right decision didn't I? Azreal continued.

 **"It also has a function that helps with hacking. The armor also increases your speed, strength and reflexes. Long story, but suffice to say that jolt you felt earlier? It essentially connected the suit to your body. Call it a form of synthesis. Don't worry, you can still take it off when you want to. This just makes it so that no one else can use the suit."** They assured me, putting their hands up to placate me.

Damn... what else can this thing do? Azrael continued. **"Now, onto the helmet. Besides the HUD, the helmet is equipped to deal with hazardous and toxic conditions, mainly with a rebreather. The helmet also has various vision modes, including thermal and night. Let's see... I believe that's all for now. Considering that this armor isn't exactly... legal, I have something else for you."** They said, gesturing to their right.

I looked over to see... a duster? I walked over to inspect it further. The duster was definitely old school. It was ebony black, looked to be made of leather, and had a hood to go along with it. Nice. I threw the duster on, pulling the hood up.

Azrael looked at me. **"Good, now you'll be able to blend in. I hope you're ready for a trip, because you're going to be leaving."** They said.

I nodded. "Where to?" I asked them. This is going to be fun.

* * *

 **Some time later**

 **Location: Elysium**

Elysium was a nice place, not going to lie. I walked off the shuttle, wearing my duster and and some regualar clothes. Thankfully before I left Azrael mentioned that the helmet and suit were collapsible, but could be activated using my omni tool. Talk about handy am I right? I walked through port, making my way into the colony. Let's see... I checked my omni tool. Azrael told me that the store was... ah there we go!

I moved to the coordinates that Azrael had sent me. Looks like it was the location of a pretty decent weapons store. I activated the helmet, for privacy and all that. Walking in, I noticed the walls were lined to the brim with guns. Oh joy. I walked up to the counter.

 **"Excuse me? I'm here to pick up an order."** I told the man behind it, filtering my voice. I showed him the receipt, and the man nodded, going to the back of the shop. While I waited, I looked around. That's when something caught my eye. It looked like a... Bowie knife? Yes that definitely was a Bowie knife. The man came back with two cases. He set them on the counter, and I opened them.

Inside were the first case was a Raptor V assault rifle. It was a good model, able to shoot about fifty rounds before overheating. The other case held two Stinger V pistols. Excellent. I paid the man for the guns. "Oh, and how much for that?" I asked, pointing to the knife.

After a bit of bargaining, I walked out of the store with my guns and a new knife strapped to my side. Awesome. I think it's time for a drink.

I managed to find a bar rather quickly. When I entered, I noticed there were a lot of Alliance troops off duty. Fair enough. They're human too. I had just sat down when I heard an alarm blaring. What the...? I ran out of the bar, followed by the Alliance troops. The skies of Elysium were filled with dozens of ships. All of them waving a single color. Shit. Pirates.

 _AN: Talk about kicking the story off with a bang huh folks? Now our protagonist has to deal with the Skyllian Blitz. Hope you guys like this. Let me know what you thought about the story. Until next time, Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 _AN 2: Just polishing up this chapter! Nothing else to see here._


	2. The Skyllian Blitz

_AN: Welcome back folks! Time to get this party started. And to answer the question kyle put up, the Raptor series is an assualt rifle model used in the first game. If I remember the timing right, the Raptor sniper wasn't in production until some time in 2187. Well, time for the story._

I ran into a nearby alleyway, where after taking my knife off I activated the armor. Fuck. FUCK! Why did pirates have to come today? I opened the cases, attaching the Raptor to my back, attaching the knife holster to my side, and slid a pistol to either leg. I realized that I was freaking out. My legs were shaking, and my hands were trembling.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. Breathe...breathe... nope. Not working. My breathing didn't slow down, it got worse. Explosions roared around me, and it got worse. My blood was pounding in my ears, and my heart was pounding. I put my hands to my head, trying to drown out the noise. FUCK! I quickly turned around, punching the wall I was leaning against. It cracked under the attack, and the sound pierced through the pounding. My eyes shot open, and my breathing was calmer now. Okay... Okay... I got this.

Time to go to work. A hum got my attention. I followed the noise and saw a ship landing. I moved, sprinting forward to catch up to it. Must be a lone crew. Well... I'm about to find out. I made my way through the streets, and it was like a damn warzone. I saw a group of pirates shooting anything that moved, and looting everything they could. Let's see... five in total, three humans and two batarians. Two had assault rifles, one had a shotgun, and the last two were armed with pistols.

I brought up the knife, activating the cloak and moving silently behind them. I went behind the shotgun, he was the biggest threat. Cool thing about shields is that while they're great against guns, but sadly it's not really the case when it comes to close quarters. I brought the knife down, tearing out the pirates throat like it was nothing. Before the others could react, I kicked one in the groin, and went for one of the pirates armed with rifles.

I moved, snapping his neck like a twig. The guy next to him brought up his rifle, trying to aim for anything really. I didn't give him a chance, picking up the discarded shotgun and aiming for his head. The last two guys, armed with only pistols, ran the opposite direction. I walked up behind them, my tactical cloak shimmering away. I brought up my assault rifle, taking aim and firing. As they fell dead, something caught my eye.

The dead batarians at my feet... they were armed with high grade stuff. You don't see this in regular pirates. What the hell is going on? Could they be... no. If they were trying to recreate Mindoir... not happening, not on my watch. That's when I heard a ringing. I looked at my HUD. It flashed, and lo and behold there was the silhouette of Azrael in the corner.

 _ **"...Now you see why I wanted you here."**_ They finally said. I growled.

"What the hell are you playing at? Did you know this was going to happen?" I asked him, kicking one of the dead batarians. Azrael sighed tiredly.

 _ **"...Yes I did. If I could, I would have stopped it. But there were too many variables in place. I... couldn't bear the thought of leaving Elysium to it's fate. That's why I sent you here, to minimize the damage."**_ They said. Despite the voice modulator, I could hear the sorrow in their voice. Damn... I want to be mad at them, but they were at least trying. I saw Azrael perk up a bit. _**"There's still hope. Look, there's a young Lieutenant who's providing support for the colony at the moment. I've put the coordinates in your HUD. You may want to hurry, they won't last long without help."**_ They said. I saw a marker light up, and I was off. Hopefully I wasn't too late.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, I was right about the crew I killed back there. I didn't see any other pirates going through the colony. I made it to where my marker said, a makeshift barricade, when I came face to face with the barrel of a shotgun. Well shit.

"Hold it right there." A young, but surprisingly stern voice said. I looked past the shotgun, taking a look at the person holding it. She was young, in her early twenties by the looks of it. She had short brown hair, which was rather disheveled at the moment, and blue eyes that were glaring at me, daring me to try something. I saw that she was wearing Alliance armor, so I did the smart thing and raised my hands in the air, away from my weapons. I discreetly made sure that the voice modulator was working before speaking.

 **"Easy there. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here to help. Mind lowering that weapon?"** I asked hopefully. The woman shook her head.

"Not until I've verified that you're not a threat. Who the hell are you?" She asked. Okay, not beating around the bush is she? What exactly am I going to say? I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. It looked like... ah shit.

 **"GET DOWN!"** I roared, tackling the woman to the ground. Not a moment too soon, because the area where we were standing exploded. Shit. I looked down at the woman, who looked unhurt, but I had to be sure. **"Are you alright?"** I asked, checking her over. She shook her head then nodded.

"I'm fine." She said. I offered her a hand, which she took. As I helped her up, I looked over to see that despite the destruction, there were still people holding the line. Thankfully the pirates seemed to have retreated. I looked back at the woman, who looked rather sheepish. "Thank you for helping me out. I guess you aren't a threat after all. Sorry about that. I'm 2nd Lieutenant Kaitlin Shepard." She said, sticking out her hand. So this was the person Azrael told me about. Well, that makes things easier. I shook her hand, chuckling.

 **"A pleasure Lieutenant. I'm..."** I paused for a minute, before deciding what to call myself. Time to take a page out of Azrael's book. **"Thanatos."** I continued. Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"What, are you a bounty hunter or something?" She asked. Huh... that's actually a good idea. At least, that's what I'm hoping Azrael was going for. Fuck it. I nodded.

 **"Why yes I am. Don't worry, I won't charge for this. Consider this on the house."** I reassured her. She grinned in response.

"Good to know." She said, chuckling. Shepard gestured to the assault rifle on me. "You know how to use that thing?" She asked. I nodded. "Good, because we're going to need it." She said, nodding to where the pirates were forming up again. Well shit.

 **"It's your call Shepard. Where do you need me to be?"** I asked, pulling out my rifle. I don't know about you, but I prefer to listen to someone who actually has training you know? Shepard motioned me to follow.

I kept pace with her, checking out our surroundings. The place itself was a large hastily made barricade, quick and efficient. Behind it was a large array of smaller barricades, built to stop any land vehicles from entering. I saw a couple dozen soldiers, armed with all sorts of weapons. With these guys at this location? We probably could last a while.

"Stick with me. I don't exactly have the range, but you do. We just have to hold this position until help arrives. If we have to, we fall back. Understood?" She asked, ducking into cover. I nodded, moving to a position opposite of her when I saw another wave of pirates coming forward. This was going to be a long day wasn't it? My question was answered as another explosion rang out.

I brought up my assault rifle, taking aim. Come on you bastards... We're right here.

* * *

 **(Some time later)**

Thankfully, the line held for a while. Sure there were a couple of incidents involving some sneak attacks, but we managed. Then shit hit the fan in the worst way possible. Unfortunately the battle was starting to take its toll on everyone. Everyone was slowly getting exhausted, and I wasn't looking too good myself. I had taken a few hits, nothing too major thanks to shielding, but I did get grazed by a sniper a few minutes ago, one that I was sure was aiming mainly for me.

I cursed as I ducked into cover, barely dodging the sniper aiming for me. There they go again. That was way too close for comfort man. I gestured to one of the remaining sharpshooters we had, and they went to work. I turned to see Shepard calling in support. These guys just kept on coming, and it was getting annoying.

I peeked out of cover when I noticed the gunfire stopped. Wait... why did they... oh my god.

"GRIZZLY INCOMING!" Shepard called out, said tank barreling towards us. SHIT SHIT SHIT! I looked around for something... anything really. There! A few feet from me was a missile launcher. I stumbled towards it, hoping I got lucky. Alright, let's do this. I propped the launcher on my shoulder, taking aim. The armor was too thick probably, but I could get one of the wheels. I fired, and the missile flew. It hit the front wheel, flipping the tank and sending it tumbling through the air.

I tossed the launcher aside, ducking to avoid the incoming wreck. It landed with a loud boom, and the grinding of metal filled the air. I heard the marines near me cheering, but I knew it wasn't done. I looked past the wreckage, to see even more tanks coming at us.

 **"Shepard? Orders?"** I asked, hoping she had an idea. Thankfully she didn't disappoint.

"Fall back! Everyone move!" She ordered, lifting up a barrier to give us cover. She was a biotic? Huh... must have seen that before. Nice. I turned to see that a few men were just standing there dazed.

 **"You heard her. MOVE IT!"** I roared, moving out. The rest quickly followed, keeping pace thankfully. We jumped past some barricades, waiting to see what would happen. I brought up my rifle again, despite the protesting of my body. Thankfully the tanks stopped, unfortunately it got slightly more annoying from there. Pirates began pouring out, leading a charge towards us. Shit. I looked around, trying to find Shepard. Where was she? That's when I saw her.

She was moving with grace I had never seen, going through the pirates like they were nothing. Biotics swarmed around her, sending people flying. Armed with her shotgun, anyone who got in her way was done for. She was like a force of nature. While I knew she probably didn't need it, I decided to give her cover fire, dropping any pirates she didn't. I slowly made my way towards her, trying to give her more support.

Any pirate who got close to me was taken down by the Alliance soldiers behind me. We were doing good, don't get me wrong, but the pirates were starting to gain more numbers. Ducking under a hastily thrown punch, I unloaded my rifle into the poor bastard who attacked me. After a bit of resistance, I finally reached Shepard.

 **"Shepard! We should stay back to back, can't let these guys surround us."** I told her. She nodded, and we moved into position. The pirates charged forward, trying to swarm us. Shepard's shotgun boomed, and I ditched the assault rifle in exchange for my pistols. At one point a pirate was able to get around Shepard, knocking one of my guns out of my hand. I elbowed him, bringing up my Bowie knife. I shoved it into the pirate's neck, tearing it out with a spray of blood. Shepard was doing her on thing, throwing biotics left and right. I ducked under another pirate's attempt at a melee attack, bringing up my knife once more.

We were starting to get overwhelmed. That's when things suddenly got better. The pirates looked up, suddenly dropping their weapons. I did as well, and damn near whooped in joy. Alliance ships dotted the skies, dropping most of the advancing fleet. I could see shuttles heading our way, at least twenty if I was right. The attack had been broken.

* * *

I stayed off to the sides, away from anything major. I didn't want to attract much attention to myself. Shepard was speaking with someone, probably her commanding officer or something. Come to think of it, they looked rather familiar. Wait a minute, is that...?

Shepard walked over to me, her CO following her. Yep, it is him. He spoke up, offering his hand to me. "Shepard here told me of what you did here. The System Alliance owes you one son. I'm-"

 **"Captain David Anderson. It's an honor sir."** I said, shaking his hand. Damn, did not expect someone like Anderson to show up. Let's just say that my old man had a lot to say about this guy. Ah hell, looks I'm definitely getting recognition after this. Talk about doing the exact opposite of what I wanted.

"You know, the Alliance can use someone like you. Would you consider signing up as a contractor?" Anderson asked. I shook my head. If he had gotten to me a few days ago, it might have been a different story. To serve under a legend like him would have been amazing. Now...

 **"Thank you, but no thank you Captain. No offense to you, but I prefer to work alone. Good luck with this."** I said, gesturing to the clean up efforts. Anderson nodded.

"That's fine. I suppose it was a long shot either way. Just know, there's always room for you here in the Alliance. I'm going to check on the clean up efforts. Good luck out there." He told me, walking away and waving down another soldier.

I turned to Shepard. **"Lieutenant. You did good job out there. I hope to see you again."** I said. Shepard grinned.

"It's Commander now, actually. So you're not joining us? Ah well. Good luck out there." She said, still beaming.

 **"Commander Shepard. Nice ring to it. Until next time."** I said, walking away and activating my tactical cloak. It was time for me to head out anyway. I had just gotten orders from Azrael.

 **'You helped save the colony. Now it's time to avenge it.'** This... this was going to be fun.

 _AN: So... what did you guys think? I tried to make the battle believable, but at the same time adding my own little touch to it. Also yes I realize that a time skip could be seen as lazy writing, but I'll try to avoid that as long as I can. Until next time, Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 _Update 2: Just adding some details here people! Don't mind me._


	3. Shadow Squad

_AN: Hey folks! Sorry about the wait. Let's just say that finals can be a real killer. But I'm back, and boy this took a while to write. Hope you guys enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. That belongs to Bioware. And if you happen to see references to anything else, those respective things belong to those respective companies or people. If that's all, then read on!_

* * *

 _I sat down, staring at Azrael's image. It's been four hours since the Skyllian Blitz, which is what the rest of the galaxy was calling the attack on Elysium, had ended. I had gotten orders from them, but I wanted to speak to them first. And that's where we ended up._

" _ **So… what exactly did you want to speak to me about?"**_ _Azrael asked, staring at me._

" _I wanted to talk about why I'm doing this. I get that you wanted me specifically, and I agreed, but what's in it for me? What do I get out of this?" I asked. The question had been gnawing at the back of my mind for a while now._

 _Azrael sighed, as if they were expecting the question._ " _ **What's in it for you? Besides giving you a wide assortment of weapons and armor? Besides helping you save a colony? I had hoped to convince you with your sense of adventure, but I guess I could go one better. I can give you the batarians who murdered your parents."**_ _They said._

 _I flinched back, as if I was slapped. I might as well have been. All the arguments I had in mind, the possible payouts I'd drawn up, they just vanished. "What... what did you say?" I croaked out. Azrael nodded._

 ** _"You heard what I said. Let's not beat around the bush Richard. I know that you spent a year after Mindior searching for their killers. I know that you found nothing. That will change, but only if you agree to work with me."_** _They said._

 _"You're… you're serious… aren't you?" I asked. They nodded._

" _ **I am. Granted, it will take a while to get to them, but rest assured, if you continue to work for me, I can give you justice. Of course, it will be hard for you to strike at some of the most successful slavers in the galaxy without some help wouldn't it?"**_ _They asked. I mutely nodded._

 _ **"Excellent. Now if that's all, is there anything else you need?"** Azrael asked. I shook my head. I guess it's time to get to work then._

 _"Where to first... boss?" I asked. Azrael chuckled._

 ** _"I'm glad you asked. Rest for now. Tomorrow however, I need you to go somewhere, meet up with some people."_** _They said, typing into a terminal._

 _"Uhh... people? What exactly do you mean by that?" I asked._

 ** _"No offense Richard, but did you honestly think that you were the only person working for me? I've been assembling a team for the better part of five years, one that I want you to meet. Now I'm not asking you to join them. No, I'm asking you to work with them. This will make it easier, you have my w_** ** _ord."_** _Azrael shot back._

 _I nodded. "Fair point. So do I meet them out of or in armor? Because I'm honestly not sure what you're going for here." I said._

 ** _"Out of armor. Don't worry, my team is reliable. They'll keep a secret. You have my word."_** _They assured me._

 _Well his word's been good so far, so why not? "Just tell me where to go. I'll be there." I said. Azrael chuckled once more._

* * *

 **The Next Day**

That's how I ended up here, drinking at a still functioning bar. Azrael told me that the leader of his team would meet me here. I had just finished a shot when I heard someone take a seat next to me. I turned to see a man wearing some old school Earth clothing. He looked to be in his thirties, tan with messy brown hair and green eyes. I hope this was the guy.

"Aaron Keener?" I asked, standing up. The man smirked and nodded.

"The one and only. You must be Richard Mercer. Pleasure to meet you." He said, sticking out his hand.

I shook it. "Pleasure's mine. We going to talk here, or were you planning to take me somewhere more secure?" I asked, looking around the bar. Aaron chuckled.

"The second one. You're pretty sharp kid. Come on, way too many people around here." He said, standing up and nodding to the door. I followed him out of the bar, and to where a black skycar was parked. We both entered, and I saw a rather pale woman with short black hair sitting in the driver's seat. Aaron nodded to her.

"Richard? This is Michelle. One of the best damn pilots I've ever worked with." He said with a chuckle.

The woman shook her head. "Flattery will get you nowhere boss." She shot back. Aaron just smirked. She activated the skycar, and like that we were off.

* * *

As we flew through the city, I decided to ask Aaron a few questions.

"How many of you guys are there?" I asked, reclining a bit in the seat. Figured I should know how many people to expect.

Aaron shrugged. "Counting us here? There's eight in total. Well nine with you. Don't worry, you'll meet them all when we get there." He said, typing something in his omni tool. I nodded.

"Good to know. So... what exactly are you guys called? Azrael only mentioned that you worked for him." I said. Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, sounds about right. We never really got a name when we started, but we started getting known as Azrael's little Shadow Squad. The name kinda stuck." He said, still typing away. Shadow Squad? Well this sounds interesting.

"What exactly do you guys do? You aren't exactly a large scale force." I said, discreetly trying to see where we were heading. Aaron chuckled from the front seat.

"You're not wrong. As the name implies, we work in the shadows. Out of sight, out of mind. All that good stuff. We do a variety of operations, from taking out high priority criminals to aiding colonies with defense, along with the occasional wetwork." He said, having finally finished typing. He turned back to face me.

"So I guess you were busy here then?" I asked. Aaron nodded.

"Yeah. We went behind the enemy lines, made sure to knock out some of their supplies. I saw your work down there, not bad kid." He said, giving me a thumbs up. I just nodded. Damn, this gig was starting to look better by the minute. I looked outside to see we had finally arrived.

Aaron hopped out of the skycar, and Michelle and I followed him. Not going to lie, this place was pretty discreet. Points to whoever picked this place out. Aaron motioned to the door.

"Come on kid, the rest of us are in here." He said, opening the door. We walked into the warehouse, the door slamming shut behind us. Well this seems familiar. At least they haven't tried to blindfold me or anything. The three of us walked into what looked like the main area. Damn there was a lot of stuff going on in here.

On one side, there was a man working on some guns. And by some I mean a lot. On the other side, an armored figure was on top of a gunship, welding away. On top of a scaffolding, I saw another armored figure with a sniper rifle, scanning the surrounding area. Michelle took off... somewhere. Damn she's fast. Aaron approached the man surrounded by guns.

He looked like he was in his forties, with brown hair in a buzzcut and a small stubble. He had a three scars running down the left side of his face, with the second scar barely missing his eye. He looked up when we entered. "Hey Aaron. This the new guy?" He asked, setting down the assault rifle he was working on. Damn. This guys voice was like gravel.

Aaron nodded. "Yep. Richard Mercer? This is Jason Cross. Our heavy weapons specialist and armory head." He said, slapping the guy on the shoulder. Cross stuck out his hand. I shook it, nearly wincing at the strength. He had a hell of a grip.

"Pleasure to meet you. You need a weapon, just ask me. Any preference?" He asked, gesturing to the table next to him.

"Yeah. Pistols and Assault Rifles work." I replied. Cross nodded.

"Alright. I can work with that. Just leave your stuff with me when you get the chance. Oh and Aaron? I finished it. You can test it out later." He said, handing Aaron a case. A gun? Probably. Eh, I'll ask about it later. Aaron nodded.

"Thanks Jason. I'll definitely try this out later. For now I'm still a tour guide." He said, smirking. Cross just chuckled, shaking his head and getting back to work. Aaron walked off towards the gunship and I followed.

Before Aaron could speak, the person raised a finger. We waited for few minutes as the person continued to work, when they finally finished. They stood up, hopping down from the gunship. They took off their helmet, revealing a woman with short red hair and hazel eyes.

"Hey boss. The Hawk took a few hits the other day, and I just finished patching up the last one." She told Aaron, setting the blowtorch down. Then she saw me. "Who's this?" She asked, wiping some sweat off her brow. I decided to take the lead here.

"Richard Mercer. Nice to meet you." I said, sticking out my hand. She smirked, shaking it.

"Nice to meet you too. Name's Karrie Norton. I'm the Chief Engineer for the team." She said, nodding back to the gunship. Aaron snorted.

"You're the only engineer we have Karrie. Good work by the way. Anything else?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Nope. Everything looks good." She said. Then she looked at me. "Do you have a shield generator?" She asked. I nodded. She sighed. "Good. If you have the chance, give it to me, I can upgrade it. We don't want you running around without any protection for a month, unlike _someone_." She said, glaring at Aaron. He held up his hands on surrender.

"It's not my fault I'm used to fighting without them. Besides, I only almost died once." He said, chuckling. Karrie poked him hard on the chest, and he winced. "Fine, twice. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to introduce Rich here to the others. Oh and we'll be heading out soon, so pack up okay?" He asked. She gave a mock salute and walked away. Aaron chuckled again.

"Feisty one isn't she?" He asked. I just nodded. "Come on Rich, time for a checkup." He said, walking off. Wait what?

* * *

I got my answer as I followed him into a sterile white room. Some really old music, Beethoven or something like that, was playing in the background. The room itself looked like your classic med bay, with equipment everywhere and a few beds, one of which was occupied by a man. Aaron sighed and walked over to him, lightly smacking the guy across the face

"Get up you lazy bum. Doc said you should rest for a few hours, and it's already been a day." He barked, looking back and winking at me. The man groaned in response.

"Yes yes, give me a minute will you? Besides unlike you, some people need sleep." He shot back. The man sat up and saw me. "Oh, Richard Mercer. Glad you're here. I'm Luke Wilbourne, tactical officer and leader of this little crew when the barbarian here isn't in charge." He said, sticking out his hand and ignoring the finger Aaron was flipping him. I shook it, taking in his appearance.

He was young, that much was obvious. Christ he couldn't be older than 24. He had messy blonde hair that reached his shoulders, green eyes that seemed to be studying me, and a very cocky smirk on his face.

"Pleasure to meet you. Hope you don't mind me asking, but what exactly happened?" I asked, gesturing to the gauze I could see wrapped around his shoulder. Luke waved me off.

"Ah it's fine. I uh... got a little cocky the other day. Pirate got the drop on me, stabbed me in the chest. Didn't realize until about forty minutes later that he punctured my lung. I mean, it was obvious once I started coughing up blood. Not my proudest moment." He said, rubbing his head sheepishly. Something about that statement got my attention.

"Wait, you're saying it took forty minutes to realize you had a punctured lung? How the hell are you still alive?" I asked in wonder. I'm no doctor, but that still sounds pretty bad.

Luke was about to answer when another person interrupted him. "That would be because of me." I heard a woman say. I turned to where the voice came from. Standing in the doorway with her arms crossed stood a woman with a small grin on her face. She was shorter than me, standing at about 5'7, with short black hair tied into a bun and blue eyes. She was glaring at Aaron and Luke, who were both trying to look innocent.

"Aaron. While I do give some leeway when it comes to you, would you kindly not attack my patients?" She asked pointedly. Aaron held up his hands in defeat. She turned to Luke, who was cackling at him. "And you. I specifically told you that the wounds you sustained were nonthreatening when I was finished. What on earth are you still doing in here?" She asked incredulously.

Luke chuckled. "Sorry Riley. The beds here are just too good to ignore. Besides, I needed my beauty sleep." He said with a smirk. Riley shook her head.

"Idiot. Out, both of you. I need to give our friend here a medical examination." She said, pushing Aaron and Luke out of the room, much to their annoyance. She let out a frustrated sighed, then turned to me and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. Now that that's done, introductions I suppose. I'm Riley Evans, the only one capable of keeping this near suicidal team alive. You're Richard Mercer yes? Jason told me about you. Are you okay with this examination? You're going to have to remove your clothes." She said, walking over to a cabinet. I nodded.

"Why not? I haven't had a decent examination in a while. Have at it." I told her, taking off my shirt. She grinned in response.

"Finally a patient without the stubbornness of a krogan." Riley said, sighing again, this time in relief.

* * *

After about an hour of tests, I was finally given the okay. But before I left, Riley gave me some surprising news.

"You know, with your body's condition you can take a few enhancements if you're up to it. Let me know later on if you want some, alright?" She asked. I nodded, fixing up my shirt. Damn, this could be useful. I'm liking this gig more and more.

"If that's all, then I guess I'm free to go?" I asked. Riley nodded.

"Yep. I'll let you know if I find anything major, but from the looks of things everything's fine. Rachel here will show you where Aaron went." She said, gesturing to the door behind me. I turned to see the sniper from earlier. They took off their helmet, revealing a young woman's face.

She was pale, almost as pale as Michelle. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, and two orange eyes stared back at me. She gestured for me to follow, walking out of the med bay. I said my goodbyes to Riley, before heading out. I quickly caught up with Rachel, who was walking at a rather brisk pace.

"So, not sure if we've been introduced yet. I'm Richard Mercer." I said, trying to start up conversation. Rachel merely hummed in response. We kept walking, with almost no conversation happening.

"So... don't talk much do you?" I asked her, trying to get some of the silence out of the way. She shrugged.

"Never saw much use for it to be honest." She rasped out. I turned to look at her. That's when I saw them. Scars, surgical by the looks of it, were across her neck. Shit.

"Oh... damn. Sorry, I didn't notice." I hastily said. Rachel shrugged it off.

"It's fine. You didn't see. Anyways, we're already here." She said, pointing to a door on my right. With that, she walked away.

"Well that was awkward." I muttered. That's when I realized something. "Wait a minute... Aaron said I would meet all eight members of the team, but I've only met seven. Where the hell's the eighth?" I asked no one in particular.

"Well someone's sharp." I heard a voice say behind me. I turned around, raising my hands up. Behind me was a man, standing in all black. He was slim, standing a bit shorter than me, with pale skin and dark eyes. Well eye anyway. His right eye, concealed by the hood he wore, was glowing a sickly green. The man chuckled.

"Good reflexes there." He said, sticking out his hand. "I wouldn't have shown up if you hadn't remembered. Name's Garrett." He said. I shook his hand. Garret nodded to the door. "We can talk later. Aaron wants to speak with you. Be seeing you Richard." He said, walking off into the shadows.

I shook my head. Damn, these guys were good. Time to speak with Aaron. I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A voice called out. I walked in to see Aaron speaking to Azrael. They both stopped when they saw me.

 **"Richard. Good to see you came. What do you think of the team?"** Azrael asked. I thought for a moment.

"They're... something else to tell you the truth. Glad I signed up with this." I said. Aaron chuckled.

 **"Good to hear. Actually, it's a good thing you arrived when you did. I was just telling Aaron here about the team's next assignment. It might hold some interest to you."** They said. I raised an eyebrow.

"And what exactly would this assignment be?" I asked. Azrael chuckled.

 **"While we don't know who led the attack on Elysium, we know who funded it. The Batarian Hegemony. What do you say to disrupting a government that basically condoned the attack on a colony?"** Azrael asked. Aaron probably knew the answer because he started chuckling.

"Where do we start?" I asked, grinning viciously.

 _AN: So yeah... this is a thing. What did you guy think? I figured it would get real old real fast if Richard was going around, being a one man army. Besides, with the introduction of Shadow Squad means more opportunities for the story. Until next time, Read, Review and Enjoy!_


	4. Planning

I sat down with the other members of Shadow Squad, baring Michelle. We were currently on a ship, supplied by Azrael of course, on it's way to our first target. The ship, called the Retribution, was basically a smaller version of a frigate, but painted black and was almost completely automated. The only things it didn't do was pilot itself, which was Michelle's job, or keep up maintenance, which was Karrie's job. The Retribution had a surprising amount of stuff inside it, from an armory, a med bay, a science lab that apparently doubled as Luke's room, and vehicle hanger.

Right now we were in all in a conference room, listening to Luke as he explained the plan. "So here's the deal: We're currently on course for a batarian slave base that recently got a successful haul... on a human colony." He said, grimacing. Everyone repeated the gesture. That... wasn't good. While they weren't exactly responsible for the recent attack of Elysium, they still put money on it. Money that they lost, and because of humans nonetheless. All of this did not look pretty for those captives. Luke sighed, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Right... anyways, this base is a key point in their operations, so it's extremely vital that we take this place out. First of all, it's located in the Attican Beta Cluster, on Zeus, a planet aptly named for the massive lighting storms it has naturally occurring. We'll land approximately four miles from the base, which will give us a decent view of the area. With me so far? Good. From there we'll have a few objectives." He said, bringing up a screen. On it was the schematics of a base. Luke pointed to one section that was highlighted, far off from the rest of the base. "This is where the residents of the colony are being held. Our main goal is to secure these people, as well as the base, by any means necessary." He told us, marking that part of the base off. Luke highlighted several more points, all surrounding the base, as well as one near the back. "These sections are turrets. Heavy duty stuff, strong enough to tear the Mako in two. This larger section is the base's perimeter shield, it makes it so that nothing large can enter said perimeter. This is where you come in." He said, pointing at Garrett, who was leaning off to the side.

"Your job is to scout ahead. Go in and ensure the people are there. Got it?" Luke said, motioning to the plans once again. Garrett nodded.

"Loud and clear. Let me guess, once that's done you want me to disable the shields as well as the outer defenses, right?" He said. Luke nodded.

"Precisely. Oh and loot away while you're at it. We could use the extra credits." He said. Garrett looked like Christmas had come early when Luke told him that. Luke motioned to another part of the base. "The next thing we have to worry about is the batarians themselves. If my calculations are correct, and they usually are, we're looking at about a hundred or so easily. We're going to need a diversion to lead them away." He said, pointing at me and Aaron. I groaned.

"Let me guess, you want me and Aaron to... Oh I don't know, blow something up to get everyone after us right?" I asked him. Luke looked offended for a second there, but grinned widely.

"No no no, Rich nothing like that." He assured me. Wait really? "No, what you're going to do is go to where their leader is located, shoot him in the head and hole up there. Sound good?" He continued. There it is. I looked at Aaron, who nodded.

"I'd listen to the kid. He knows what he's doing. Hasn't gotten much wrong yet." He told me. I shrugged. Fair enough. If he trusts him, I guess I could too.

"Alright Luke, I'll play along. So let me get this straight: Me and Aaron are kicking the hornet's nest. Garrett's ghosting his way through the base. What about the others?" I asked. Luke's grin, almost impossibly, grew even wider.

"I'm glad you asked that! While you two are up there gaining the attention of everyone, Michelle, Karrie and Riley will stay on the ship for obvious reasons... well at least Riley and Michelle anyways. Karrie, are the mechs ready for deployment yet?" He asked the redhead, who was fiddling with her omni tool. She looked up when he asked the question.

"Uh... I'd say about fifty or so are fully operational. I can start working on some right now if that's okay." She said, looking at Aaron. He shook his head. Karrie stood and tried to speak, but Aaron raised a hand.

"I'm sure that can wait until the meeting's over Karrie. Besides, Luke hasn't told you what you were supposed to do." He said. Karrie quickly shut her mouth and sat back down, burning red. Luke smiled.

"Much appreciated. Now then, the mechs will be vital to the success of this mission. Once Aaron and Richard have effectively raised hell and Garrett's disabled the base, we'll dock with them and send the cavalry in. Once that happens, I want the mechs to be split up into two groups. Group one will move towards the prisoners and help watch over them. Group two will move towards the armory, ensuring that our little slavers can't access their heavy duty stuff. Everyone with me so far?" He asked. Jason cleared his throat.

"Quick question. Any armor we're going to have to worry about? What about anti aircraft? Gonna need to know so I can prep accordingly." He told us, speaking up for the first time this whole meeting. Luke blinked, before whacking himself on the head several times.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He muttered angrily. He turned to Jason. "Thank you for reminding me. Aircraft will most definitely be an issue. Michelle? You up for it?" He asked her. Oh right, forgot she was listening in on the intercom.

"It's not like you're asking me to jump off the ship. I'll take care of them." She said. "ETA is two hours by the way." She continued. Luke blinked.

"Two hours? Damn, must have carried the four wrong." He muttered, shaking his head. "Whatever. Well, thank you for the reminder Jason. Right then, Caveman, you're up." He said, pointing at Aaron. He nodded, standing up.

"Right. We'll be splitting up into teams. The kid and myself will be one. Rachel? You'll be working with Garrett. You'll be going in close quarters, so be prepared." He said, pointing to the two quietest members of our group. They nodded. Aaron looked over at Jason. "Sorry pal, but you'll be stuck with Luke. Try not to kill him please, we need him still." He said with a grin. Jason grunted, glancing at Luke, who gave a wink in response. Aaron turned to Karrie and Riley. "I want the two of you ready for anything. Karrie, try and get more mechs up as soon as you can. Riles? Set the med bay just in case." He said. Karrie shot off like a bullet, while Riley calmly left, checking something on her omni tool. Aaron turned to the rest of us. "You've got your orders. Let's move out!" He barked. Like that, everyone scattered. Guess it's time to suit up.

* * *

After putting on my armor and duster, I walked into the armory. Jason had mentioned that he was working on my guns. I saw Aaron, Jason and Luke. Luke was busy trying to convince the others to take something he created a few days back. Jason was simply minding his own business, tinkering with an assault rifle.

"Come on Keener, I assure you this is perfectly harmless. I mean it's not like you haven't taken risks before. Remember what happened on Talos V?" Luke asked an extremely disgruntled Aaron, who scoffed in response.

"If I recall, Talos V was _your_ fuckup to begin with. If Riley hadn't joined up when she did, you would have been down a leader." Aaron shot back. Luke waved him off.

"Details, details." He said. Then he saw me. Ah shit. "Ah Rich, there you are! You've gotten here just in time. Can you do me a favor? When you're down on the surface fighting for your life, can you use this at some point? I need to confirm some tests I ran." He said, handing me a small cylinder with a button on top. I held it in my hand, studying it.

"What is this? A grenade?" I asked him, bringing the cylinder closer to my face. Luke scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's a eezo detonator. Should replicate the effects of a warp, stasis or a singularity, depending if I crunched the numbers right." He said, turning towards the table full of weapons. I blanched, rapidly moving the extremely dangerous device away from my face.

"Uhh... you're absolutely sure this is safe?" I asked Luke, who was busy inspecting a pistol. He groaned, tossing the pistol aside, much to Jason's annoyance.

"I'll have you know that something I've created hasn't blown up in my face for months. You just have to press and toss. Simple as that." He said, grabbing another pistol. He scoffed and tossed it as well. "Jason, where on earth is my gun? I left it right here." He asked him. Jason nodded, handing him a case.

"Found it lying around. Really should keep better track of this thing. I tweaked it up a bit. Fire rate should be better, and should be able to shoot off more rounds before overheating." He told him. Luke nodded, opening the case. Inside was a rather deadly looking gun. Unlike my pistols, this one looked more like a cannon more than anything. Luke sighed in relief as he inspected it.

"Well, at least you didn't damage it. Did you know what I had to do to get this thing?" He asked Jason. Aaron decided to speak up.

"If I recall correctly, you stole that from a Spectre. One who was extremely pissed off at you." He said with a grin. Wait what? Luke waved him off.

"Not my fault that bitch didn't like what I told her. Honestly, you figure out someone's connected to the Shadow Broker and suddenly you're public enemy number one!" He said, groaning. The others simply started to chuckle. Luke flipped them the bird, before walking out. "Note to self, find out how Vasir's doing. Wonder if she's still pissed of. Probably is." He muttered on his way out.

My focus went from his retreating form to Aaron, who was working on... huh. Interesting.

"You use ballistic weapons?" I said, staring at the guns on the table, and the magazine in Aaron's hand. He was loading individual bullets into it, all for what was definitely the biggest gun. It looked like an assault rifle, but it had a bunch of different attachments I hadn't seen on others, stuff like a scope and a suppressor. Aaron caught me looking.

"Like it?" He asked, gesturing to the rifle. I nodded. Aaron set the magazine he held down, reaching for the rifle. "This bad boy is called the MA6E Modular Weapon System. It's an assault rifle that launched a few years before the Mars archives were found. Unfortunately with the discovery of the archives, as you know, ballistic weapons became a thing of the past. Thankfully Azrael was able to hook me up with this." He said, loading said gun. Damn, he really likes old school.

"Why exactly do you use ballistic weapons? Not that there's anything wrong, but why?" I asked. Aaron shrugged, chuckling sheepishly.

"Eh, never really got the hang of the modern stuff. I always needed something with a kick to it. Besides, all the current shields are built against guns with that shoot a smaller round. Figured something like this would punch right through." He said. Well I couldn't argue with that.

"What about that one?" I asked, gesturing to the other gun. Aaron smirked, setting down the rifle and picking up the gun I mentioned. It was a pistol, but it was also another old school gun.

"Ah, this one? It's a more of a memento than anything, like a good luck charm, but it's still had it's uses. My old man had it, wanted to pass it down. It's a modified Wilson Combat 1911, 21st Century edition. It's saved my life more times than I could count." He said, holstering the gun. Huh, rather impressive that it survived this long. I was about to ask Aaron something else when he paused, putting a hand to his ear. "Keener here. What? Alright, I'll head right up." He said. He turned to me apologetically. "Sorry kid, Karrie needs some help. We'll talk later." He said, getting up and leaving.

I heard Jason clear his throat. I turned to see him setting my guns on a table. "You were looking for these I assume?" He asked, gesturing to them. I nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. You do anything major to them?" I asked him. Jason nodded.

"Yep. Gave em a bit of a tune up. They were great as is, but I figured I'd give you an edge. Nothing major, just the basics. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make sure Rachel's stuff is good to go." He said, going over to fiddle with a gun. I took that as my cue to leave. Shouldering the rifle and strapping the pistols, I stepped out of the armory. So... what now? I got a ping on my omni tool. A message? Opening it up, I began to read it.

 _You're going to want to come up here as soon as possible. We need to talk. My room._

 _Luke._

Well isn't that ominous. Wonder what he wants? I holstered all my guns, leaving the armory. Following the really convenient pathways, I found myself outside of Luke's room. Should I knock or... The door suddenly flew open, and Luke was there in an instant. He... looked rather unstable at the moment. His normally neat hair was in a mess, his eyes were wild and... oh god he was twitching. He smiled when he saw me.

"Good! You're here! Come in!" He said, gesturing for me to follow.

"So... what seems to be the proble-" I got cut off as Luke suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders, dragging me inside. "What the? Luke, get the hell off me!" I said, trying to pull away from him. It didn't work. For a kid about half a foot smaller than me, he was pretty strong. He shushed me.

"One sec." He said, shutting the door and activating his omni tool. He sighed. "Good, now we can talk in peace." He said, turning towards me.

"What... exactly did you want to talk to me about?" I asked, glancing around at his room. The walls held... wait what the hell? Whiteboards? Who the hell still uses whiteboards? I could see dates, times, locations, names. Luke cleared his throat.

"Well, it's a rather matter concerning...some of our people." He told me. Oh this ought to be good.

"So... you then? Or is there something else wrong?" I asked him, glancing at his haggard appearance. Luke scoffed.

"Oh ha bloody ha. On a rather serious note, there's a situation on Zeus. We have a man down there, and he was captured." He told me. Shit.

"How bad is this going to be? He know much about what we're doing?" I asked, wringing my hands. Luke nodded.

"He's the leader of another squad. Trust me, Jai knows a lot. Good thing is that he can take a punch. Only thing is that if we don't get him out soon, we're going to have a problem on our hands." He told me. How much worse can this get? It seems Luke could see my question. "The worst case scenario is that if we don't get Jai out of there in time, then the base is going to be razed to the ground, hostages be damned." He told me, looking me straight in the eyes. Well... shit.

"That's... not good." I said slowly. Luke scoffed. "Right, stupid statement. What do you need me to do?" I asked him. Luke sighed in relief.

"Good, you're agreeing. I was worried I was going to have to blackmail you for help." He told me. I'm... just going to ignore that little statement. Luke continued, bringing up something on his omni tool. It was a map of the base. "So! Here's what we're going to do. You and Keener are going to be doing a HALO jump. Familiar with the concept? Ah well, you figure it out. From what I've gathered, you'll be landing somewhere here." He told me, indicating to one area. "From here, you'll make your way towards the command center, which coincidentally enough, has the prison bay on your route. With me so far?" He asked, glancing over at me.

I nodded. "Yeah. Only one question. What am I telling Aaron when I come across this... Jai?" I asked, getting a nod from Luke. "Jai. Alright, what do I tell him?" I continued, crossing my arms. I felt like I was going behind Aaron's back, and I'd rather not burn bridges before I started. Luke shrugged.

"Just tell him that you found a member of Gray Team. He'll get it." He said, sighing in relief and moving over to a whiteboard, connecting something. I could hear him mutter. "What on earth am I missing? We've got Zeus, now the others." He glanced back, noticing me. "You're still here? Oh right, forgot. That's all. Save Jai. Consider it a... vital secondary objective." He said, waving me off. As I left the room, Michelle's voice rang out.

"Just a heads up people, ETA is forty minutes. Pack up what you need and get moving." She said. Shit. I sprinted off towards my room. Better make sure I have everything.

* * *

I stood at the edge of the Retribution's cargo bay doors, looking down at the planet's surface. I'd say we're... fuck it, I not going to guess. We're pretty high up. I turned to Aaron, who was now clad in black armor and a blank, expressionless helmet. **"So tell me again, what exactly are we doing?"** I called out over the howling wind. Aaron looked over at me.

 _ **"Simple! We're doing a HALO jump. You've been skydiving before, right?"**_ He asked me, his voice taking on the same modulated tone mine had. All the team had, something about anonymity. Made sense. I nodded at the question.

 **"Once or twice. Same concept?"** I asked, noticing a wide array of clouds starting to form. Thunder rumbled, lighting began to flash. I saw Aaron nod.

 ** _"Yeah, sort of. See, thanks to some tech we set up, we're creating a sort of wind tunnel to pinpoint our landing zone. Once we get the signal, we're jumping. If you fall off course, your armor should be able to handle the rest. Don't worry, I've done this enough times. You'll be fine!"_** He said, clapping me on the shoulder. _**"Oh and before I forget, try and refer to us by our codenames during missions. I'm Vanguard, Luke's Spoiler, Rachel's Deadeye, Garrett's Thief and Jason's Slayer."**_ He told me. Codenames? Eh, makes sense. Suddenly I heard the comms chime up.

 _ **"This is Slayer. Hostages are secure."**_ I heard what sounded like a groan, then a thud. _**"All batarians in this sector are incapacitated. Estimate of a hundred strong was correct. Advise caution."**_

Another voice chimed up. _**"Spoiler here. I'd like to remind the barbarian that we are on a time limit here. If you two would like to hurry up, I'd rather not be swarmed by batarians. So hurry up... like now please."**_ I heard Luke say. Aaron nudged me.

 ** _"That's our cue kid. Good luck. And don't forget to scream a little, it's good to get the blood pumping."_** He told me, taking a step back and running off the edge. Shit. Well, guess I can't back out now. With a sigh, I stepped back a bit, before charging. Once more into the fray.

 _AN: I think that's a good place to stop. I am sooo sorry for the wait you guys! Really! In my defencse, I've rewritten this thing so many times it hurts. And yes, I am taking certain liberties by adding a planet here and there, because... why not? As I was saying. I'll try to be more consistent, but rest assured: This story will never die! Until next time (hopefully soon) Read, Review and Enjoy!_


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